Hostname: page-component-f554764f5-c4bhq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-10T18:21:23.570Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Abnormal Auditory Brain-stem Responses in Hallucinating Schizophrenic Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

L Lindstrom ,
I. Klockhoff ,
A. Svedberg  and
K. Bergstrom
L Lindstrom
Affiliation:
University of Uppsala
I. Klockhoff
Affiliation:
Department, University of Uppsala
A. Svedberg
Affiliation:
Department of Audiology, University of Uppsala
K. Bergstrom
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Uppsala
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Abnormal auditory brain-stem responses (ABRs) were recorded in 10 out of 20 schizophrenic in-patients. The response abnormalities did not show any correlation to the degree of psychopathology, sub-group of schizophrenia, age, sex, or cerebral ventricular enlargement. Nor was there any correlation to previous neuroleptic treatment: a pathological ABR was recorded in 5 of the 8 patients who had never received such medication. A statistically significant relationship was found between ABR pathology and auditory hallucinations: 9 of the 11 patients who admitted having hallucinations exhibited brain-stem response abnormality, whereas ABR abnormality was recorded in only 1 of the 9 patients who denied having hallucinations. The data imply that brain-stem dysfunction is involved in the psychopathology of schizophrenia, and that interference with the auditory pathways in the brain-stem may induce auditory hallucinations in schizophrenic patients.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 151 , Issue 1 , July 1987 , pp. 9 - 14
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

→sberg, M., Perris, C., Schalling, D. & Sedvall, G. (1978) A comprehensive psychopathological rating scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Suppl. 271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchsbaum, M. S., Ingvar, D. H., Kessler, R., Waters, R. N., Cappelletti, J., Van Kammen, D. P., King, S. C., Johnson, J. L., Manning, R. G., Flynn, R. W., Mann, L. S., Bunney, W. E. & Sokoloff, L. (1982) Cerebral glucography with positron tomography: use in normal subjects and in patients with schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 251–259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fisman, M. (1975) The brain-stem in psychosis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 414–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Franzen, G. & Ingvar, D. H. (1975) Abnormal distribution of cerebral activity in chronic schizophrenia. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 199–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gunne, L. M., Lindström, L. & Terenius, L. (1977) Naloxone-induced reversal of schizophrenic hallucinations. Journal of Neural Transmission, 40, 13–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gunne, L. M., HGGSTRM, J. E. & Sjöqust, B. (1984) Association with persistent neuroleptic-induced dyskinesia of regional changes in brain GABA synthesis. Nature, 309, 347–349.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heath, R. G., Franklin, D. E., Walker, C. F. & Keating, J. W. Jr (1982) Cerebellar vermal atrophy in psychiatric patients. Biological Psychiatry, 17, 569–583.Google ScholarPubMed
Heaton, R. K., Baade, L. E. & Johnson, K. L. (1978) Neuropsychological test results associated with psychiatric disorders in adults. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 141–162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hertzig, M. E. & Birch, H. G. (1966) Neurologic organization in psychiatrically disturbed adolescent girls. Archives of General Psychiatry, 15, 590–598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holzman, P. S., Levy, D. L. & Proctor, L. R. (1976) Smooth pursuit eye movement, attention and schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 1415–1420.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ingvar, D. H. (1976) Functional landscape of the dominant hemisphere. Brain Research., 107, 181–197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ingvar, D. H. & Franzen, G. (1974) Abnormalities of cerebral blood flow distribution in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 50, 425–462.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jewett, D. L. (1970) Volume-conducted potentials in response to auditory stimuli as detected by averaging in the cat. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 28, 609–618.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jewett, D. L. & Williston, J. S. (1971) Auditory-evoked far fields averaged from the scalp of humans. Brain, 94, 681–696.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnstone, E. C., Crow, T. J., Frith, C. D., Husband, J. & Kreel, L. (1976) Cerebral ventricular size and cognitive impairment in chronic schizophrenia. The Lancet, u (30 Oct.), 924–926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennard, M. (1960) Value of neurological signs in neurologic diagnosis. Neurology, 10, 753–764.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, L. J. (1974) A sensory-integrative approach to schizophrenia. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy., 28, 529–536.Google ScholarPubMed
Lindsky, T. I., Weinhold, P. M. & Levine, F. M. (1979) Implications of basal ganglionic dysfunction for schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry, 14, 3–12.Google Scholar
Mathew, R. J., Meyer, J. S., Francis, D. J., Schoolar, J. C., Weinman, M. & Mortel, K. F. (1981) Regional cerebral blood flow in schizophrenia: A preliminary report. American Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 112–113.Google ScholarPubMed
Mosher, L. R., Pollin, W. & Stabenau, J. R. (1971) Identical twins discordant for schizophrenia: neurologic findings Archives of General Psychiatry., 24, 422–430.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Penn, R. D., Belanger, M. G. & Yasnoff, W. A. (1978) Ventricular volume in man computed from CAT scans. Annals of Neurology., 3, 216–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pfefferbaum, A., Horvath, T. B., Roth, W. T., Tinkelberg, J. R. & Kopell, B. S. (1980) Auditory brain-stem and cortical evoked potentials in schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry, 15, 209–223.Google ScholarPubMed
Picar, D., Vartanian, F., Bunney, W. E., Maier, H. P., Gastpar, M. T., Prakash, R., Sethi, B. B., Lideman, R., Belayev, B. S., Tsutsulkovskaja, M. V. A., Jungkunz, G., Nedopil, N., Verhoeven, W. & Van Praag, H. (1982) Short-term naloxone administration in schizophrenic and manic patients. A World Health Organization Collaborative Study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 313–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Picton, T. W., Hillyard, S. A., Kranz, H. I. & Galambos, R. (1974) Human auditory evoked potentials. I: Evaluation of components. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 36, 179–190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pincus, J. H. & Tucker, G. J. (1978) Behavioral Neurology 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Rosenhamer, H. J., Lindström, B. & Lundborg, T. (1978) On the use of click evoked electric brain-stem responses in audiological diagnosis. The variability of the normal response. Scandinavian Audiology, 7, 193–204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenthal, R. & Bigelow, L. B. (1972) Quantitative brain measurements in chronic schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 121, 259–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seidman, L. J. (1983) Schizophrenia and brain dysfunction: an integration of recent neurodiagnostic findings. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 195–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shagass, C. (1975) EEG and evoked potentials in the psychoses. In Biology of the Major Psychoses: A Comparative Analysis (ed. Freedman, D. X.). New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Sohmer, H. & Student, M. (1978) Auditory nerve and brain-stem evoked responses in normal, autistic, minimal brain dysfunction and psychomotor retarded children. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 44, 380–388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J. & Robins, E. (1977) Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for a Selected Group of Functional Disorders, 3rd ed. New York: Biometrics.Google Scholar
Squires, N., Aine, C., Buchwald, J., Norman, R. & Galbraith, G. (1980) Auditory brain-stem response abnormalities in severely and profoundly retarded adults. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 50, 172–185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Starr, A. & Hamilton, A. E. (1976) Correlations between confirmed sites of neurological lesions and abnormalities of far-field auditory brain-stem responses. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 41, 595–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stockhard, J. J. & Rosstter, V. S. (1977) Clinical and pathologic correlates of brain stem auditory response abnormalities. Neurology, 27, 316–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szelenberger, W. (1983) Brain stem auditory evoked potentials and personality. Biological Psychiatry, 18, 157–174.Google ScholarPubMed
Torrey, E. F. (1980) Neurological abnormalities in schizophrenic patients. Biological Psychiatry, 15, 381–388.Google ScholarPubMed
Weinberger, D. R., Torrey, E. F., Neophytides, A. N. & Wyatt, R. J. (1979) Lateral cerebral ventricular enlargement in chronic schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36, 735–739.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weinberger, D. R., Torrey, E. F., Neophytides, A. N. & Wyatt, R. J. (1982) Brain morphology in schizophrenia: in vivo studies. In Schizophrenia as a Brain Disease (eds. Henn, F. A. & Nasrallah, H. A.), New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.